Marcoleta ready to go to jail over P75-M donation he received as congressman

MANILA, Philippines – Senator Rodante Marcoleta said he is prepared to go to jail if the Office of the Ombudsman files plunder charges over the P75 million he received before he officially became a Senate candidate while still serving as a congressman.

“Nakahanda po akong magpakulong. Kung kinakailangan kong maaresto po, wala pong problema,” he said on the second day of the rally staged by his fellow Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) members on Wednesday, July 1.

(I am prepared to go to jail. If I have to be arrested, there is no problem.)

Marcoleta is facing a complaint for plunder for receiving the donation based on Presidential Decree No. 46 ahead of his senatorial campaign in 2025. Under Philippine law, a public officer may be charged with plunder if an ill-gotten wealth involved amounts to at least P50 million.

He was earlier asked by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to explain why the amount was not shown in his Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) – he declared a net worth of P51 million, yet spent P112 million during his 2025 senatorial campaign.

He confirmed that he received P75 million, but said it was given to him before the campaign period started. The Comelec later ruled in favor of Marcoleta, stating that he did not commit any election offense.

He admitted, “Ang ibinibintang nila sa akin ay salaping pantulong para sa kampanya para ako ay manalong isang senador. Mga kaibigan ko na pribado at sarili lang [nilang] pera ang kanilang itinulong sa akin, baka sakaling manalo nga po ako at nanalo nga po ako.”

(What they are accusing me of is campaign funding for me to win a senatorial seat. My friends helped me with their own money, privately, just in case I win, and I did win.)

“Hindi ko na po ipapaliwanag ang technicality kung paano nila inimbento ang isang gawa-gawang asunto laban sa akin,” Marcoleta added. (I won’t explain the technicalities of how they invented a fabricated case against me.)

One INC member defended Marcoleta: “‘Yun po ay donasyon na pribado, so bakit po ‘yun ikakaso kung donasyon po ‘yun at ‘di galing sa kaban ng bayan?” (That was a private donation, so why would you sue if it was a donation and not from the public coffers?)

There is no final answer yet regarding the actual filing of charges, as the details of the complaint are still under preliminary investigation.

Senator Imee Marcos and former congressman Mike Defensor also spoke, echoing supporters’ chants of a supposed “selective justice” in the government under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who was on his way to Canada for a state visit during the rally.

After their permit for a third day in Quezon City was revoked, the INC-led rally is continuing for a third day at Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila. – Rappler.com